21 Months Old

Oh my goodness, I look at this picture and see such a big boy.  Even though he's growing up, he's still my baby :-)  Here's what he's up to:

*He is trying to use his words more and more.  I just wish I better understood them.  Most of the time I can figure it out but if not, he can get very frustrated and throws himself into a tantrum.  It is getting easier to communicate with him, though.  He answers yes or no questions either with a head nod or shake with "yah" or "no, no, no."

*He tries to keep up with Hannah in everything that she does.  He doesn't realize that he's 2 years younger and again gets very frustrated when he can't do whatever she's doing.

*He now tells me "poop" when he has a dirty diaper and needs a change.  He's actually a bit oversensitive b/c he will tell me he needs a change when he's just passing gas.

*He tries very hard to get himself dressed.

*He still a big reader.  His favorite is a race car book he got for Christmas, which we read many times a day.

*He is obsessed with milk!  He will pull on the refrigerator door or open the dishwasher and ask for "mook" all day long.

*He says folds his hands and prays with us at dinner and folds his hands and "says" his own prayers at bedtime.

*Since Hannah now goes to Sunday school after church, we have started keeping Jack with us during church and putting him in the nursery during Sunday school while Jason and I do our Bible study.  He does so well, usually only getting a little antsy toward the end of the service (knock on wood).  In fact, several people have commented to us how good he is during church. 

*He is now a stair master.  We rarely have the gate closed anymore (only to prevent car rides down the stairs!)

*He plays Hide and Seek with Hannah and I.  He will sit in the counting chair, close his eyes, "count" (ah, ah, ah, ah), and then come look for us.  He's such a smart boy!

*He loves "The Wheels on the Bus", especially the "sh, sh, sh" verse.

We love this boy!!

Youth Sunday

This has been Hannah's first year of attending Sunday school and Kids' Corner on Wed. nights.  She loves both programs, and they are certainly having an effect on her as she sings the songs she learns all week long.  Since she's active in the children's programs, she got to participate with her class in Youth Sunday.

All of the kids in the Sunday school, Kids' Corner, GEMS, and Cadets sang songs on stage.  Between all of those programs there were A LOT of kids up front.  It was so sweet to hear them all sing!

Some of the senior high kids helped lead the praise and worship times of the service as well, and did an awesome job!  We are so happy to be a part of church with such great youth programs and look forward to our family being blessed by them in the years to come.

Riding Bikes

We have had a fabulously mild winter this year.  At this time last year we were playing in the snow.  This year we are riding bikes!

Jack has inherited Hannah's tricycle, but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of how to ride it.

Bad parent moment here.  Yes, I should be stopping him from eating sand, but I had to take a picture first.  Let's just say we've had some gritty diapers in the days since.

Jack's reaction after I put down the camera and took him out of the sandbox (quickly picking up the camera again to capture the moment!).

Big Kids

Boat Show

Jason had a Friday off recently, which coincidentally coincided with the GR Boat Show.

 We had plans to all go out to breakfast and then head to the show.  Unfortunately, Jack wasn't feeling great in the morning, so we let him take it easy at home while Jason and Hannah went to McDonald's for breakfast.

 After a few hours, Jack had perked up so we headed to the show.  Hannah had a ball.  She wanted to climb in EVERY boat.

 She was especially intrigued by the boats with beds.  Each boat we went into she wanted to know which bed was hers.  I told her she'd have to talk with Daddy.

Even though we'd brought the stroller, Jack wanted none of it.  Such a big boy these days.



Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day 2012

The day before Valentine's Day Hannah and I made heart-shaped cookies.

Valentine's morning, I got out the pink table cloth and surprised each of the kids with a box of Valentine chocolates and a small gift.  Since we had MOPS that morning, I didn't have time to make heart pancakes like last year, so instead we opted for pink oatmeal.

 For lunch, we stuck with the pink heart theme.

 Safe to say that Jack enjoyed it.

 While Jack was sleeping, Hannah and I dipped heart-shaped strawberry marshmallows in chocolate and decorated with sprinkles.  She actually did a much better job than I did!

 After Jack woke up, the kids made Valentine's.

After the kids were fed and put to bed, Jason and I enjoyed our own Valentine's dinner of stuffed mushroom caps, spinach salad, and shrimp and asparagus risotto with chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.  Perfect!

Butterfly Hunting

I heard that the first butterflies were out at the Gardens, so we went to check them out after church.

The first butterflies must be pretty shy because we never ended up finding any, but we had fun roaming through the gardens anyway.

Jack was right in his element playing cars...

...and so was Jason.

Sledding

We've had so little snow this winter that the kids haven't had much chance to go sledding.  When we finally got a few inches Hannah was more than eager to get outside.

Jack is not a fan of the cold, but after he went down the hill once he was hooked.

Jason manned the launch pad at the top of the hill.

Hannah's friend Jake was over for the night, and he had a great time sledding too.

The night was mostly free of tears with the exception of 2 collisions at the bottom of the hill.  No major injuries other than some bruised egos.

The most tears of the night were shed upon coming inside.  Jack, who typically hates the cold, was SO upset when we brought him in that he threw a complete tantrum.  I think it's safe to say he had a good time.

Daddy-Daughter Date

Last Saturday Hannah and Jason spent a special day together and went downtown ice skating.

Hannah did so great!

From what I hear she actually wasn't on her knees all that often.

After skating they warmed up with some hot cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkles.  Perfect ending to a pretty perfect afternoon.

Crazy Kids

One of Jack's favorite spots to hang out.  If you look closely, he's actually sitting on the shelf in the kitchen.

Of course Hannah had to try it out for a picture, too.

A little privacy please.

Preschool

Last week we checked out Covenant Kids Preschool.  Hannah loved it and had no problem making herself right at home.  We loved the teachers, the learning style, and the values, so we went ahead and enrolled her!  I can't believe that next year she will be in scool 3 mornings a week.  I don't know what Jack and I will do (although I'm sure we'll manage to fill the time somehow!).  We're all looking forward to it.

Great Wolf Lodge

 For Christmas this year, Jason's parents gave our family a trip to Great Wolf Lodge.

We didn't tell Hannah where we were going.  Even if we had, she wouldn't have known what it was since this was our first trip there.  Needless to say, she was one excited little girl when we arrived!

We stayed in a wolf den suite that included a separate cabin area with bunk beds for the kids.  Hannah claimed the top bunk right away.

Jack was a typical monkey, hanging out the window.

As part of the gift, Jason's parents joined us on the trip as well.  It was so nice to have another set of adults to help watch and chase after the kids!

We arrived early in the afternoon so that we could take full advantage of the water park.  Hannah wasted no time making the most of the activities.

We spent all afternoon at the water park and then went back to our room for dinner where the guys brought back pizza.  We'd also brought along a ton of snacks, so we were never hungry.  After dinner, we got the kids cleaned up and into their pj's and headed down to story time in the lobby.

Hannah was captivated.

Jack took it all in, too.  (Can you tell he was worn out in this picture?  That's what playing in the water and basically no nap did to him!)

Hannah and Wiley Wolf.

We got the kids all tucked into bed, hoping they would immediately crash.

They were completely worn out but still way too excited to sleep.  Jack stayed in his bunk for about 2 minutes.  Thank goodness for the pack-n-play!

The next morning, we headed down to the water park first thing.  Our plan was to wear them out at the water park, have some lunch, and then go for a drive so they would get a good nap.  Worked perfectly!

We stopped and had dinner at one of our favorite spots, The Blue Tractor.

Then we headed back to the water park.

Hannah couldn't get enough of the slides.

Don't let this picture fool you.  Jack actually loved the slides, too.  He went down again and again.

Hannah's favorite part was going down the "big" water slide, which actually was pretty big.  I was hesitant the first time b/c she had to go by herself.  I think she was a little scared, too, but once she went she wanted to do it over and over.

Jason's mom forgot her bathing suit, so she ended up buying a really cute suit at the store at the hotel.  Turned out well b/c she had a great time in the water, too.

Jason and Hannah on the lazy river.

Yes, I got in the water, too!  Actually, Jason and I had so much fun going down the water slides for older kids and adults (another benefit to having another set of grown-ups to watch the kids!)

We stayed until almost closing time at the water park.  Jack cried and cried when we left.

To wrap up the night, we enjoyed ice cream (with sprinkles). 

Grandpa got the kids the mandatory wolf ears.

We had a fantastic time and are already looking forward to going back again someday.